Chiara Ferrè

“A Pizza Delivery is a narrative adventure with simple puzzles and strange settings. We play a young delivery girl, trapped in a limbo where tormented souls end up. This is the developer's first experiment and should be interpreted as such. It would be wrong to expect great things.”

“If you like the detective genre (e.g. you loved franchises like Ace Attorney), give Best Served Cold a chance: you are the bartender of a ‘speakeasy’, an establishment that illegally offers alcohol during the prohibition era. Your job is to please the customers so you can loosen their tongues between cocktails... while solving murky murder cases. Combine clues from conversations and make your own deductions. The title has a good storyline and a nice, well-rendered art direction that makes you really feel like you're behind the bar of an illegal bar, among jazz music, smoke and ice clinking in the glasses. A must try.”

“While Waiting is not a boring game, as some might think: waiting for the little and big things along life's journey, one laughs and is even moved, but the important thing is always to be quick in solving puzzles and mini-games, thus obtaining all the achievements required by the 100 levels that make up the title. Too bad about the wooden controls and the general static nature of the whole thing, which make the experience not very dynamic and repetitive at times (it is inevitable to proceed by trial and error). A nice puzzle game without too many pretensions.”

“Mindcop is a game that knows how to entertain and brings the player into the climax of investigative activity. Despite being a minute title both in duration and content, the story is interesting and the gameplay simple but satisfying. It is a pity that the only mini-game is a little listless, which can however be deactivated if necessary. On the other hand, the game is well cared for in terms of graphic style, animations and atmosphere.”

“Let's help Wilmot decorate all the walls of his house by solving puzzles and hanging them in the rooms! In addition to the curious movement system (the player controls Wilmot, the smiling square, telling him which pieces to collect, drag and join), Wilmot Works It Out stands out for its mixed puzzle mechanics: the postmistress always delivers us a few more or fewer pieces, so we first have to work out which pictures we can reconstruct and which ones will have to wait for the next deliveries, as we are missing a few pieces. The game is long-lived (about eight hours to finish the ‘story mode’) and relaxing. Nothing too difficult, but entertaining.”

“Slay The Princess: The Pristine Cut brings the visual horror novel to consoles, but that's not all: thanks to new avenues to explore and the Italian translation of the texts, grinding out game after game to unlock never-before-seen outcomes has never been so satisfying. This original title can last three hours, or much longer. To kill or not to kill? Investigate the mysterious voices accompanying the hero or just follow orders? Save the princess or give free rein to violence? It is up to the player to choose who to be and who to become, and if you are not satisfied... just select ‘New Game’!”

“Until Then is a graphic novel without any particular gameplay flourishes, with some technical imperfections but enjoyable from a graphic point of view. The great strength of the narrative lies in its sweet and delicate tone, as well as in the Filipino setting, original and rich in traditions. The paranormal element and the multiverse only serve as a frame for many reflections on the human soul, on grieving, on the journey to adulthood and on interpersonal relationships. Knowing how to let go and learning to listen to those who remain in our lives is not easy. Growing up is not easy, and Until Then tells us this through a story worth living. If you are looking for a relaxing and unpretentious title, give it a chance. Tears are guaranteed.”

“Minds Beneath Us could easily be made into a successful TV series one day. The plot that unravels before the player's eyes hour after hour has its dark points, but is so varied, intricate and entertaining that it has left us open-mouthed several times. This side-scrolling narrative video game does not offer any particular plot twists, but while travelling on well-defined tracks it manages to give the player a certain sense of freedom. Thanks to the interactive and intelligent responses of the various characters, the actions and words of our alter ego always seem to carry weight: in an instant we are there, in a Chinese megalopolis ravaged by social inequalities and AI, amidst espionage, bowls of noodles and voices in our heads. Despite being a little too long-winded, BearBone Studio's title is polished and entertaining. If the genre and the atmosphere it proposes appeal to you, don't hesitate to play it!”

“Mediterranea Inferno is an all-Italian game, in which three homosexual boys come together after lockdown to come to terms with their own frailties, their fears and the loneliness ingrained in their souls. This visual novel abandons political correctness to offer an irreverent experience, a slap in the face in many ways. Interesting, but definitely not for everyone.”

“Final Fantasy XVI: Echoes of the Fallen is a short and concise expansion that offers respectable new fights. If you loved the original game and its combat system, we recommend it without hesitation, even if it doesn't offer much in the way of plot and new abilities. The feeling is that the best is yet to come with The Rising Tide, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.”

“Howl is a simple but efficient turn-based tactical game. It is not particularly long-lived, but gives the possibility of a good handful of games without getting bored. The mechanics are immediate and fun, suitable for everyone thanks to an ‘assisted’ mode that helps with reasoning. A successful indie title, able to entertain in downtime while keeping the mind in training.”